Virginia Beach modernizes incident command
Virginia Beach Fire Department partnered with First Due to pilot a digital command board that strengthens accountability, improves post-incident learning, and supports long-term regional interoperability.
"It’s 2026 and we’re still riding on dry-erase boards. The natural progression is digital — and the ability to integrate CAD, logging, and checklists is a big step forward."
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Operational Impact & Key Outcomes
600+ Preparing for Digital Command
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21 Stations Serving 450K+ Residents
30-33 Frontline Units Tracked Daily
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The Story
Background
Virginia Beach Fire Department has long treated Incident Command as a core operational discipline rather than an afterthought. Command language, order-of-arrival playbooks, and day-to-day accountability practices have been refined over many years through department-wide feedback and continuous training. The department has studied command methodologies from across the country and blended those lessons with its own field experience to build a highly consistent command system.
Challenge
Despite that maturity, the department still depended heavily on magnets and dry-erase boards to manage incidents. That approach was functional, but it required constant manual effort and limited how quickly information could be captured, shared, and reused after the incident. Leaders also knew that any modernization effort had to stand up in a regional mutual-aid environment across Hampton Roads and Tidewater, where interoperability and consistency matter as much as usability.
Solution
Virginia Beach evaluated digital command options and selected First Due as both a technology partner and a development collaborator. The department prioritized a digital command board grounded in strong command fundamentals, including resource tracking, divisions and groups, and personnel accountability. It also emphasized CAD integration so digital resources would appear immediately in the workflow, along with AI-supported logging and documentation to strengthen after-action reporting and training value. To validate the platform under realistic conditions, the department brought First Due into hands-on hot-zone and Mayday training at the 2026 Virginia Fire Rescue Conference, where command officers from Virginia Beach and neighboring agencies were able to test the workflow and provide operational feedback.
Results
Virginia Beach remains in the build-and-pilot phase, but the intended operational gains are already well defined. Commanders are working toward faster, cleaner accountability with fewer manual steps, stronger post-incident learning through structured logs and checklists, and broader leadership visibility through a future operating picture that combines CAD, command activity, and drone feeds. Just as importantly, the department sees digital command as a model that can support consistent templates, terminology, and workflows across mutual-aid partners throughout the region.
About
Virginia Beach Fire Department
Quick facts
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Bring accountability and clarity to every incident — without reinventing your command playbook
First Due Incident Command provides a modern digital command board designed to help Incident Commanders allocate resources, track assignments, and maintain accountability, with logging and workflow support built in.
Virginia Beach Fire Department is piloting digital command in high-stress training scenarios to verify that the workflow holds up for real operations and regional mutual aid.
In their own words:
- What first sparked your interest in digital command?
- Seeing electronic command in action made the need obvious. The direction of travel is digital, but the rollout has to match how the department actually commands incidents.
- Why did you choose First Due as your command product?
- Virginia Beach wanted a partner that could grow with the department. The team needed flexibility and a roadmap aligned with where its command program is headed.
- What makes Virginia Beach Fire Department’s command culture different?
- Incident Command has been built into the department for decades and reinforced over time through terminology, playbooks, accountability tools, and continuous training.
- How are you testing the Command module?
- The department is putting it into realistic environments, including command and Mayday training at a major conference, while collecting feedback from Virginia Beach personnel and outside agencies.
- What features matter most for your teams on day one?
- The workflow has to be intuitive for routine incidents, align with existing board-based habits, and make resource and accountability tracking easier rather than harder.
- Where does AI fit into your command workflow?
- AI-supported logging and summaries can help automate documentation, create clearer incident synopses, and preserve the operational timeline for review and training.
- How does this affect mutual aid and regional operations?
- Shared templates, terminology, and platform workflows can improve communication, accountability, and safety across jurisdictional boundaries.
Ready to modernize incident command and the rest of your operation?
See how First Due supports command, response, reporting, scheduling, and more in one connected platform.
